Background. In Poland, as in most other European countries, diseases of the respiratory system are the 4 th leading cause of mortality; they are responsible for about 8% of all deaths in the European Union (EU) annually. To assess the socio-economic aspects of mortality, it has become increasingly common to apply potential measures rather than conventionally used ratios.

Malignant neoplasms of the digestive system, especially of the large intestine, are becoming a more common cause of premature mortality in Poland.

Background & Aims: Diseases of the digestive system substantially contribute to premature mortality of the Polish population. Years of Life Lost (YLLs) are more and more commonly used in order to evaluate social and economic aspects of these deaths. The aim of the study was to analyse YLLs due to diseases of the digestive system in Poland between 2000-2014.Methods: The study material included a database which contained information gathered from 5,601,568 death certificates of Poles who died between 2000-2014. Data on deaths due to diseases of the digestive system were used for the analysis (i.e. coded as K00-K93 according to International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision). Standard Expected Years of Life Lost (SEYLL) wasused to calculate YLLs.Results: In 2000-2014 diseases of the digestive system contributed to 239,176 deaths of Poles (4.3% of all deaths), which corresponded to 5,470,096.8 YLLs (95.2 years per 10,000 population). Each death due to the above cause was responsible for the average loss of 22.9 years. Diseases of the liver, including alcoholic liver disease and fibrosis and cirrhosis of the liver, contributed to the highest number of YLLs (54.1%).Conclusions: Of all digestive diseases, the dominant causes of YLLs are alcohol-related liver diseases. In order to minimize this phenomenon, it is important to intensify public health activities, aimed at combating alcohol addiction in Poland.

The aim of the study was to analyse years of life lost due to selected malignant neoplasms of the digestive system (colorectum, stomach, and pancreas) in Poland, a post-communist country in Central Europe, according to socioeconomic variables: sex, age, level of education, marital status, working status, and place of residence. The study included a dataset comprising death certificates of Polish citizens from 2002 (N = 359 486) and 2011 (N = 375 501). The data on deaths caused by malignant neoplasms of the digestive system, that is, coded as C15-C26 according to International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision, was analyzed. The standard expected years of life lost meter was used to calculate years of life lost. In 2002, malignant neoplasms of the digestive system caused 25 024 deaths among Polish citizens (7.0% of all deaths), which translated into a premature loss of 494 442.1 years of life (129.4 years per 10 000 people). In 2011, the number of deaths increased to 26 537 (7.1% of all deaths) and the number of years of life lost rose to 499 804.0 (129.7 years per 10 000). The most important causes of mortality and years of life lost were colorectal, stomach, and pancreatic cancers. In both studied years, the socioeconomic features with an adverse effect on years of life lost due to each considered malignant neoplasm of the digestive system included male gender, lower than secondary education, widowed marital status, economic inactivity, living in urban areas. Years of life lost analysis constitutes a valuable part of epidemiological assessment of health inequalities in society. It appears that the observed inequalities may have many causes; however, further research is needed to better understand their full extent.